Insole for corrective shoes



Dec. 1s, 1934. H, GORDON 1,984,576

INSOLE FOR CORRECTIVE SHOES AFiled Dec. 22, -19:52

Patented 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,984,516 msnm ronooanEc'nvE snoEs Hiram Gordon, Columbus, Ohio implication member z2,1932, semi No. s4s,4ss

' i claims. (ci. ses-22) This invention relates to corrective shoes andmore particularly to the 'manufacture of insoles constructed to giveeffective support to the arch of the foot and the relief of certainailments or iniirmities thereof. A

The main object of the invention is to provide an insole of thischaracter embodying a lateral wing extension adapted to beneath andprovide increased support for the arch ofthe foot.

Another object of the invention is to construct this lateral wingextension or arch supporting element so that it may be readily shaped tot' the instep of the last and to retain its shape and corrective effecton the foot of the wearer of the .shoe into which 'it is built duringthe active life of the shoe.

It is also an object of the invention to form the arch supportingelement from a separate piece of` material from the body of the insoleso as to eii'ect a saving in the cost of construction of the insole andto eliminate waste in material which is present should the lateralextension forming the arch support be made an integral part of the sole.

A further object of the invention is to form the piece of material fromwhich the arch support is made with forwardly andbrearwardly directedextensions which are wedge shaped in transverse cross section andoverlie; the inner edge of the sole on one side of the longitudinalcenter thereof. These extensions together with Vthe arch support providea longitudinal wedge which will raise the inner portion of the sole .andtend to shift the weight of the wearer of the shoe to the outer portionof the foot and thereby correct certain inflrmities of the foot.

It is also a further object to form-l the lateral extension or archsupport so as to give it a sharp upward curvature from the body of theinsole in order to snugly embrace or hug the arch portion of the footwith which it is intended to engage and without materially weakening thesupporting exterior where it joins the sole.

A stilll further object of the invention is to bevel the outer edge'ofthe archextension and the bottom edge of the shank portion of the solewhere it Vconnects said extension so that the latter and this portion ofthe sole will conform more readily to the upper and without producing'sharp off-sets where the upperoverlaps the sole and extension to give asmooth and more iinished appearance to the shoe.

Other objects of the invention will be understood from the followingdescription and claims with the accompanying Fig. 2 is a transversevertical sectional view 5 taken through the sole on the line 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a similar view taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is also a similarview taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional ,view taken through the arch portion ofthe shoe Vand the sole showing the arch portion thereof in a raisedposition and adjacent the shoe upper.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates aninsole blank shaped to fit the outline of a last bottom (not shown) towhich the sole is usually attached in the process of constructing theshoe. This sole blank, which is particularly designed for use inconnection with womens shoes, has its under surface formed, with theexception of the heel, with sewing ribs 2 made in any approved manner,to which ribs the upper 3 of the shoe is usually stitched as illustratedin Fig. 5' ofl the drawing.

-In the construction of the insole according to this invention, the sole1 is provided with a strip 'of material 4 which is preferably formed ofleather and'attached to the upper surface of 3C, the sole blank alongthe full length of the inner side thereof. This strip of material whichis of a width substantially half of that of the blank and lying whollyto one side`of the longitudinal center thereof is shaped along one edgeto conform to the outline of the inner edge of the forward and heelportion of the sole. Formed intermediate the ends of the strip 4 andprojecting. laterally from the portion thereof overlying the shank ofthe sole is an extension or wing 5 forming a support for the arch of thefoot which it is intended to underlie. 'Ihe arch extension 5-is of alength substantially equal to that of the shank portion of the sole, awidth large enough to embrace the instep of the last and of suchthickness as to provide a substantial support forthe arch.

In order that the extension 5 may be shaped to conform readily to thelast during the construction of the shoe, the underside thereof isscored or formed with a shallow slit 6 which extends the full length ofthe extension `at a` point along the concave line of the inside edge ofthe -sole shank. This scoring or slit pro duces what may be termed ahinge which permits the extension to be turned abruptly upward along thenormal contour lines of ythe shank of the sole and thereby enabling theextension to snugly hug the upward curvature of the foot at this point.This feature is highly essential in order to providefor the properbracing or supporting effect Aof the arch. As the slit 6 only needs tobe very shallow to produce flexing of the arch extension at this point,the same will not materially weaken the material but will only providefor the sharp bending thereof and eliminate the tendency of be` comingstraightened when the weight of the foot is placed thereon. The factthat the slit is formed on the underside of the extension,V

the same will not form a 'gap but leaves the material smooth andunbroken on the inner side of the sole when the foot is in engagementtherewith.

The extension may be cemented in place to the inside of the upper andthe outer or upper edge thereof thinned or skived down as at 7 to avoidforming an off-set or ridge in the side of the upper. Likewise, thebottom edge of the insole may be formed with a bevel 9 to also eliminatesharp corners and permit the shoe upper to conform more readily to theshape of the sole and thereby enhance the beauty and appearance of theshoe. It will be noted that the beveling of the sole at the shankportion is very slight and therefore the same will in no way weaken thesole, destroy its rigidity or sacrifice any of its weight and strength.

The strip 4 which extends the full length of the sole along the inneredge thereofis wedgelike in transverse lcross section throughout itslength and tapering inwardly from the edge of the sole into a thin edgewhich when the wedgelike strip is cemented in place upon the sole willlie substantially flush with the upper surface of the sole blank.

This longitudinal wedge strip raises the inner portion of the sole' andtends to shift theA weight of the wearer of the shoe towards the outerportion of the foot and thereby correct certain ailments or innrmitiesof the-foot. In some shoe constructions, the strip may only extend underthe arch and heel portion of the foot and again only under the forwardand shank portion of the foot as the case may be depending upon theparticular ailment of the foot to be corrected.

' the arch support to snugly or closely hug the arch of the footA so asto form a finished support therefor. Further the solel constructionprovides a longitudinal wedge extending over the full length of theinner portion of the sole or a portion thereof which 'wedge will raisethe inner part of the foot and tend to straighten the same so that theweight of the wearer of the shoe will be equally distributed andsupported for the full width of the insole. The application of the wedgestrip and the extension to the insole will in no way hinder or affectother manufacturing operations of the shoe.

What is claimed is:

1. An insole for a corrective shoe comprising a sole blank, a wedgestrip attached to the top of said blank along the inner edge thereof andto one side of the median line of the sole blank, said strip beingshaped to conform to the blank along the inner edge of the strip andformed with a wing extension projecting from Vthestrip at the innershank portion of the sole blank, said wing extension being scored on itsunder side at the line of juncture with the sole blank, to permit theextension to be turned sharply upwardly in supporting relationship withthe `arch of the foot.

3. An insole for a corrective shoe comprising a sole blank, a wedgestrip attached tothe to'p of said blank along the inner edge thereof andwholly to one side of the median line passing longitudinally through theblank, said wedge strip being formed with a wing extension projectingtherefrom at the inner shank portion of the' sole blank, said extensionbeing so formed as to provide flexibility at its line of junction withthe sole blank to permit the extension to l be turned sharply upwardlyto' closely hug the instep region of a last, the rearward portion ofsaid strip overlying the inner heel portion of said blank. i

4. An insole for a corrective shoe comprising a sole blank, a Wedgestrip attached to the top of said blank along the inner edge thereof,said strip being shaped to conform to the blank along the inner forward`and heel portions thereof and formed with a wing extensionintermediately of its ends which projects laterally from the strip atthe inner shank portion of the sole blank, said wing extension beingscored throughout its length at its line of juncture "with the soleblank to permit abrupt upward turning thereof from the blank into closeengagement with the instep region of a last during the construction ofthe shoe, the outer edge of said extension being tapered to a thin edgeand thebottom inner edge of the shank portion of the solel blank beingtapered or beveled toward said wing extension.

5. An insole for a corrective shoe comprising a sole blank, a wedgestrip attached to the top of said blank along the inner edge thereofandto one side of the median line of the sole blank, said strip beingshaped to conform to the blank along the inner edge thereof and formedwith a wing extension projecting -from the strip at the inner shankportion of the sole blank, said wing extension being. slit on itsunderside along the line o'f juncture with the sole blank to permit topof said blank along the inner edge thereof and to one side of the medianline extending longitudinally of the blank, said strip` being shaped toconform to the blank along the forward and heel portions thereof andprovided with a wing extension projecting laterally therefrom at theinner shank ofthe blank, the portion of the wedge strip lying on top ofsaid blank being tapered inwardlybeginning at the edge of the sole blankand said extension being weakened on its under side along the line ofjuncture with the sole blank to permit the extension to be turnedsharply upwardly in supporting relationship with the arch of the foot.

7. A shoe insert comprising a strip of leather,

formed for attachment to the upper surface oi an insole, one edge ofsaid strip being shaped to conform to the insole along its inner soleand heel portions, a wing extension projecting laterally from the insertat its shank portion, the opposite edge of said strip being shaped tocoincide, when the insert is positioned upon the insole, with thelongitudinal center line of the insole, said st rip being beveledtransversely from the edge having the insole contour to the oppositeedge.

HIRAM GORDON.

